The Anaheim Ducks centre will visit the dentist after losing his two front teeth after taking a stick to the mouth courtesy Brandon Bollig of the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

And head coach Bruce Boudreau is getting frustrated with his players taking abuse and the offending team not being penalized.

"It boggles my mind," he told the O.C. Register. "Every game, that we're getting high-sticked. Double minored. And we don't get the calls. That's one power play again (for us). One penalty (committed) against us. It's getting kind of ridiculous."

The Ducks lost Cam Fowler and Kyle Palmieri for several games due to upper-body injuries resulting from hits that were not penalized or punished after the fact.

Meanwhile, Ducks forward Corey Perry just finished a four-game suspension for a questionable hit on the Minnesota Wild's Jason Zucker.

The Finnish forward missed the Hurricanes' first 29 games after having hip surgery in mid-December. He hasn't played in nearly a calendar year.

Head coach Kirk Muller gave Ruutu the green light to play against the New Jersey Devils Thursday night after skating with the team for about a week.

Muller also said Ruutu, whose next NHL point will be the 300th of his career, will be eased into the lineup and will start on the fourth line.

PANTHERS' KULIKOV NEARS RETURN

Florida Panthers defenceman Dmitry Kulikov is nearing a return to the lineup, even though he missed Thursday's road game against the New York Rangers.

Kulikov has missed the last 10 games for the Panthers with a core injury, but will return sometime during the team's road trip, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

Meanwhile, rookie forward Eric Selleck is out with a concussion suffered when he fought Carolina Hurricanes forward Kevin Westgarth on Tuesday.

Selleck will miss the next two games anyway due to a suspension for coming off the bench to instigate a fight in the last five minutes of the game.

KINGS SET TO MEET U.S. PRESIDENT

The Los Angeles Kings will visit Washington next Tuesday, but won't be playing the Capitals.

Instead, the Stanley Cup champions, along with Major League Soccer champion Los Angeles Galaxy, will be honored for their 2012 championships during a reception with U.S. president Barack Obama.

"This visit will also continue the tradition begun by President Obama of honouring sports teams for their efforts to give back to communities as part of their trip to Washington," the White House said.

The Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils in six games last June.

BRIEFLY: The Carolina Hurricanes claimed winger Zach Boychuk off waivers on Thursday. Boychuk played one game with the 'Canes this season before bouncing to the Pittsburgh Penguins for seven games and five more games with the Nashville Predators ... The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled goaltender Cedrick Desjardins and forward Richard Panik from the AHL ... The Vancouver Canucks called up winger Andrew Gordon from the AHL in time for their game against the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday.